1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to desks and tables having an adjustable top surface, particularly to a lightweight and portable table that can be set upon the surface of a desk or another table, and which also allows its top surface to be extended to a maximum height of approximately one foot. It allows a person working in a seated position at their desk or a table to adjust the working top surface thereof to a more comfortable position (reducing eye, neck, or back strain), or alternatively allows that person to comfortably work from the present invention's elevated top surface while standing. It is designed to be easy to manage, readily portable from one work surface (desk, table, credenza, countertop, or other) to another with little effort, spring-assisted with load during up and down deployment, and it promotes improved health and welfare of its user, or users. Applications include but are not limited to home use, business use, use by people who would otherwise sit for extended periods of time performing a task, and use by healthcare workers who need prompt access to instruments and devices when in both sitting and standing positions while caring for different patients during a work day.
2. Description of the Related Art
In many offices, workers sit at a desk during most of their day while using a computer. The daily sitting for long periods of time is cumulatively detrimental to their health, particularly when other commitments in their lives prevent them from obtaining regular exercise outside of the workplace. The present invention helps such workers in two ways. First, it may raise a worker's computer screen to a more suitable elevation for better worker posture, less screen glare, and improved productivity. Second, it provides an opportunity for the worker to alternatively sit and stand during a day to conduct needed work, enhancing the worker's metabolism, leg muscle activity, alertness, and overall health.
The invention thought to be most similar the present invention in purpose is the product found on the Internet website of www.varidesk.com. Although the VARIDESK™ also allows a worker to sit or stand while using a computer, there are important structural differences between the present invention and the VARIDESK™ invention. One readily visible difference is the collapsing structure used in each invention. The VARIDESK™ invention has a collapsed height of 5-inches, and a footprint of 30-inches (width) by 27-inches (depth), and for elevation of its top surface uses a pair of parallel support bars on each side that form a Z-shaped connection with the top and bottom structure of the VARIDESK™ invention. One horizontally-extending support plate is also connected between the opposed rear support bars, and the VARIDESK™ invention provides a keyboard support. In contrast, the present invention has an X-shaped elevation structure with seven rods (three medium axis rods, two large axis rods, and two lock rods) extending between opposing sides of the invention. Also, the most preferred embodiment of the present invention is smaller than the VARIDESK™ invention, and has a collapsed height of less than 4-inches, and a footprint of approximately 28-inches (width) by 20-inches (depth). Furthermore, instead of a keyboard support, the present invention has opposed locking/release handles, and its table top has an indentation or groove in a position near and substantially along its front surface and an opposing carrying handle cutout near its rear edge that can be used for insertion of fingers on one hand to assist in moving or carrying the present invention from one position or location to another.
The inventors of the present invention have also found several adjustable table inventions, even a few that use an X-shaped support between it top surface and base/support. However, the present invention structure is distinguishable, and its differences provide new and different benefits and advantages to its users. One known adjustable table invention is a lap desk disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,833,200 to Patterson (Nov. 10, 1998), the top surface of which has elevation and angled movement from a compact/collapsed position. However, the Patterson lap desk has opposed side supports that are substantially planar and do not have an X-shaped configuration. In contrast, the side supports of the vertically shiftable platform in U.S. Pat. No. 2,630,359 to Schade (Mar. 3, 1953) has a pair of parallel bars on each side that have a substantially Z-shaped connection to the bottom of the platform and the support surface below them. The adjustable table inventions in U.S. Pat. No. 4,926,760 to Sack (May 22, 1990), U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,377 to Fahmian (Dec. 31, 1996), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,701,853 B1 to Hwang (Mar. 9, 2004) all have supports with an X-shaped configuration, however each is different in the connection of the X-shaped support to the top work surface. Furthermore, the Sack and Fahmian inventions each have more complexity in their X-shaped support and elevation structures which would make them heavier and less easily portable than the present invention. Also, the Sack and Fahmian inventions each have more complexity in the base to which the X-shaped support and elevation structures are connected than does the present invention, with the present invention simply having two opposed L-shaped base rails. While the Hwang invention is more visibly similar to the present invention, the top surfaces of its opposed X-shaped support and elevation structures connect to the central portion of the bottom surface of its top surface, similar to the Sack and Fahmian inventions, but opposed to the positioning of the top ends of the present invention X-shaped support and elevation structures, which are adjacent to the side edges of its table top. Furthermore, the bottom surfaces of the opposed X-shaped support and elevation structures in the Hwang invention move within a rectangular frame, similar to the Sack and Fahmian inventions, but opposed to the substantially parallel and L-shaped base rails used in the present invention. The Hwang invention is also different from the present invention as it has no center axis rod, no side locking/release handles, and no groove or carrying handle cutout in the upper surface of its table top. There is no invention known with the same structure as the present invention, or one providing all of its benefits and advantages.